Costa rica digital nomad visa was announced on July 2022, since that it come a famous destination for digital nomads from all over the world, Costa Rica is a very good option with it’s ideal weather for mostly for digital nomads from north America and Europe.
Most those people who loves traveling already like Costa Rica for tourism and stay there or visit this beautiful country with tourist visas but for those who work remotely now a better option than a tourist visa is available, a digital nomad visa for longer stays and best for stability for remote work.
Currently, there are dozens of digital nomad visas available worldwide, with most countries announcing their digital nomad visas and the list continuously growing. Some countries offer unique benefits, such as very long stays or pathways to permanent residency and citizenship. Costa Rica, in particular, provides special offers and benefits with its digital nomad visa.
But first let give a short overview about Costa Rica digital nomad visa.
Costa Rica digital nomad visa
Costa Rica’s digital nomad visa, officially known as the “Estancia para Trabajadores Remotos y Prestadores de Servicios Internacionales,” allows remote workers to live and work in Costa Rica for up to one year, with the possibility of extending for another year.
The entire process of this visa is online, you don’t need to deal with embassy of consulate all you need to submit your application online, give the personal data and upload the required documents and wait for 14 days to know about your visa result.
Read more: Indonesia digital nomad visa requirementsÂ
As we mentioned Costa Rica digital nomad visa is valid for 1 year with the possibility of extension for another year but this extension can be only granted if you stay for 180 days in the country.
It mean if you want to have a valid visa ( extension of current visa) for next year you need to stay 6 months in Costa Rica and than request an extension for additional year.
Who can apply for Costa Rica digital nomad visa?
Fortunately there is no nationality restrictions in Costa Rica digital nomad visa, everyone who meet the requirements can apply for this visa, no matter where are you from it’s enough to have a valid passport from any country in the world and meet the Requirements.
To apply for Costa Rica digital nomad visa it’s necessary to earn at least 3,000 USD per month, it mean you need to have 36,000 USD income each year.
So the main point is financial situation, if you earn at least $3,000 you can apply fot this visa, there is not strict conditions.
Costa Rica digital nomad visa requirements
Costa Rica’s digital nomad visa requirements are among the easiest of the digital nomad visas. the only significant requirement is the monthly income, which is neither excessively high nor extremely low.
Here is the list of Costa Rica digital nomad visa requirements:
- Passport: you have to hold a valid passport with minimum 6 months validity .
- Remote work Proof: you need to have some documents which prove that you are working remotely, it can be a work contract, Job letter, partnership agreement etc.
- Bank statement: you need a bank statement which must show Bank records of monthly 3,000 USD income.
- If you are applying with family than this amount in going to increase to 4,000 USD per month.
- Health insurance: it’s important to have a health insurance which protects you against all possible risks for your entire stay in Costa Rica.
How to apply for Costa Rica digital nomad visa?
To apply for Costa Rica digital nomad visa kindly follow these essential steps:
Step 1: Gather all documents
Before to apply for visa, you need to check the list of requirements and than gather all the required documents with fresh dates according to the official list of requirements.
Scann all these documents, you will need to have a pdf or any digital format of all required documents.
Step 2: Submit online visa application
When you scanned all your documents now it’s time to submit your documents and visa application.
Start here by visiting official website of digital nomad visa of Costa Rica, create your account, enter your data and upload the required documents and pay the visa fee.
Step 3: wait for your visa
When you submitted your visa application and paid visa fee now you need to wait for 14 days to hire about your visa status.
The Costa Rican immigration need 14 days to make a decision about your visa request, you will be able to check your visa status online if it was approved you need to print the visa and travel to Costa Rica.
Travel to Costa Rica
If your visa was approved now you can start your trip to Costa Rica, when you arrive to the country it’s necessary to apply for a residence if you plan to stay for more than 90 days.
If you plan to stay less than 3 months you don’t need to register with police or apply for residence.
Costa Rica digital nomad visa taxes
Tax is one the most important matter for digital nomads because they earn from outside the country, the income source is from abroad and in this situation it’s not look fair to pay income tax.
Well the good news is that, there is no income tax for digital nomads in Costa Rica, yes all digital nomads are exempt from income tax in this beautiful country.
Most of digital nomad visas has income tax, there is a general rule in most countries, that if a digital nomad stay for more than 6 months than he/she need to pay income tax which is generally more than 15% in most countries.
How reliable is internet in Costa Rica?
Yes, Costa Rica has a reliable WiFi connection and digital nomads can run their work remotely without any problem.
For fix internet which can be WiFi connection to your home it’s usual to see 100 Mbps speed it’s possible to increase this speed more with additional fee.
The average mobile internet speed is around 33 Mbps which is average, it can work normally without any problem.
